Yama Rising

"Did the second King Yanluo leave?" After a long while, the Harken jumped onto Qin Ye's shoulder in a well-rehearsed fashion.

Qin Ye nodded in response before suddenly asking, "What is the current military strength of our nation like?"

The war against the Nipponese Underworld was going to be initiated within the next two to three years, and this was an enquiry made before the final charge down the home stretch.

A serious look appeared in the Harken's eyes as it replied, "We have a standing army of 1.5 million and 10,000 praetorian guards. Coupled with the second-generation forbidden arts, it'll be enough to take down the Nipponese Underworld!"

"What about our equipment?"

"We have the most advanced equipment in the world." It was Zhao Yun who replied on this occasion, and he made his way over to Qin Ye before extending a slight bow. "The first decade of the past 30 years of our Cathayan Underworld's development was focused on infrastructure construction and research and development. In the 10 years after that, we focused on education, and ever since you decided to attack the Nipponese Underworld, there have been marked improvements in the military sector."

"Most importantly, our Cathayan Underworld and the Hanyang Underworld are extremely well-connected, as are all of the regions within the Cathayan Underworld," Arthis also chimed in. "Thus, we can mobilize our forces extremely quickly, definitely far quicker than the Nipponese Underworld will be able to."

Qin Ye nodded in response, then turned and cast his gaze toward the boundless desert.

This place couldn't even be called a desert anymore. Instead, it was like a land of mirrors! If moon landings became possible in the underworld someday, then this place would definitely become an internationally renowned landmark, much like the Sahara desert or the Great Wall in the mortal realm.

Glass shards of all types of different colors were littered all over the ground, looking as if they were uneven crystalline pillars. If one wasn't aware of how they had been formed, they would most likely be stunned by how incredible nature could be.

However, for all those who did know of the origins of this place, this sight would only evoke memories of lingering fear.

This was a piece of history.

The resurgence of the Cathayan Underworld was going to begin from this desert!

Even Qin Ye himself was struck by a sense of surrealism as he stood here. This was a desert of glass that would only appear in movies, and it was truly an awe-inspiring sight. He couldn't help but wonder whether the second-generation forbidden art would cause more destruction to the Nipponese Underworld than the nuclear bombs had inflicted upon Nippon in the mortal realm back in the second world war.

"I have to make a trip," he suddenly said.

Before anyone else had a chance to reply, he turned around with a serious expression and continued, "Now that everything has been prepared, all we need to do is recruit the help of the three great yokai of the mortal realm, and we'll be able to immediately deploy our troops to the Hanyang Underworld. At the moment, Commander Zhou has gathered forces in excess of 100 seaworthy ships. We must take down the Nipponese Underworld as quickly as possible!"

They couldn't afford to give the rest of the world any time to react!

Is it finally about to begin?

All of the Yama-Kings nodded in response before cupping their fists in parting salutes.

……………………………………………………

Nippon, Aokigahara.

This place had an alternative name that was renowned across Asia and even the entire world, and that was "suicide forest". The number of people who committed suicide here was second only to the Golden Gate Bridge of Usonia, which was quite ironic, considering that this place was a forest that seemed to be teeming with life.

The species of trees here were quite uniform, so it was impossible to decipher where one was unless they had a vast wealth of experience in survival in the world. Due to the abundance of iron ore and volcanic magma here, the magnetic fields prevented compasses from working properly. Regardless of whether one intended to commit suicide, once they entered this place, it was virtually impossible to get out again.

There were countless legends associated with this forest, and one could spot corpses hanging by rope from trees virtually once every several hundred meters. It was said that the residents living nearby could hear the rustling of rope every night, and there were even claims that people had seen a hung ghost with a tongue that was over a meter in length roaming through the forest.

"In the past, most of the nearby residents were quite impoverished." An elderly man was walking along a country road while supporting himself with a cane, and he was panting slightly as he said, "Unfortunately, they had to leave abandoned infants and many elderly people in the forest to starve to death, and that was how Aokigahara came into existence. Everyone knows that the better living standards become, the more people come to commit suicide here. You haven't come here to commit suicide, have you, young man?"

Qin Ye was walking along behind the elderly man in a crisp suit while inspecting the village with an intrigued expression, and he casually replied, "No."

The aura of resentment hanging over the forest was extremely dense, so much so that it was clearly visible to him. The entire forest was encompassed under a vast expanse of gray mist, within which there were countless howling souls.

All of the people who had entered this place were at the height of despair, and they carried immense resentment toward the world. Over the past centuries, this place had already become a paradise for evil ghosts.

What was a little troublesome was that the evil ghosts had already fused as one with the surrounding trees and even formed an array. This was a completely naturally forming array, and it would not be easy to dispel it.

It wasn't that he couldn't dispel it, the problem was that doing so carelessly would cause quite a commotion, one that could perhaps even be noticed by the Nipponese Underworld.

"Good. There's no shortage of tourists who come here every year. It's a good thing that you reserved a room with me in advance. If you had contacted me a week or two later than you did, I may not have had any vacancies."

Qin Ye nodded casually in response, then continued to inspect his surroundings. It had to be said that the scenery was very unique here.

It was no different from the average Nipponese village, but there were many signs littered throughout the village with large red text written on them, bearing messages such as "Life is something to be cherished!", "Please think about your family!", "There's always hope in life, so don't give up!", etc.

The elderly man turned around to discover Qin Ye looking at the signs, and a wry smile appeared on his face. "Those signs don't really do much. When you see a person who's determined to end their own life here, they are extremely calm and stable, so it's impossible to tell who's here for tourism and who's here to commit suicide. These signs aren't anywhere near enough to shake their resolve. Ah, we're here, please come in."

The elderly man's room wasn't very large. It was an ordinary Nipponse-style wooden cabin, and it seemed to be quite old, but it was very clean and tidy. The elderly man led Qin Ye into the room with a smile, then put on his slippers, and right as he was going to pour some tea, Qin Ye's voice suddenly rang out from behind him. "Have you heard of the shimenawa of Aokigahara?"

The elderly man turned around to face Qin Ye with a wary expression, and only after a long while did he ask, "Who are you?"

Qin Ye calmly put on a pair of slippers himself, then said, "Yamada Shintaro, also known as Master Yokoromo. You were banished from Enryakuji of ōtsu 20 years ago and came to Aokigahara to commit suicide, but you encountered Iwasaki Kyōya, who was on holiday at the time, and he convinced you to live on and join the Mitsubishi Corporation. There's no need to be so tense and anxious, it was Mr. Iwasaki himself who told me to come here. I'm sure he already gave you a call several years ago. I was delayed by some matters, so I'm a few years late. Mr. Iwasaki has already passed away. If you need confirmation, you can call Iwasaki Ichiro. Tell him that my surname is Qin, and that we met several years ago in Takeshigerō. I'm sure he still remembers me."

Master Yokomoro stared at Qin Ye for a moment longer before extending a slight bow. "Please pardon me."

He quickly made his way into the inner room, and several minutes later, he emerged with a smile before extending a deep bow. "It is an honor for me to be visited by you in person, Mr. Qin. Iwasaki San has asked me to pass on his greetings to you, and he also wanted to know if you require any assistance."

"It's alright." Qin Ye sat down onto the sofa and said, "All I need is some information, and I'll be leaving soon."

Qin Ye didn't know what Iwasaki Ichiro had said to Master Yokoromo, but he was acting in an extremely respectful fashion. He poured a cup of tea for Qin Ye, then offered it up to him with both hands, and only then did a serious look appear on his face as he said, "I recall that you asked about a legend earlier. So many people have died in Aokigahara, yet there haven't been any evil ghosts wreaking havoc, and that's because of the Nipponese Underworld's intervention. There are underworld emissaries sent to patrol the forest each year, and they appear in the deepest part of the forest. There is a shimenawa there, and those who step over the rope will arrive in the world of the dead."

Qin Ye took a small sip of the tea to find that it was slightly bitter, but had a very vibrant green color.

At some point in history, tea in Cathay and Nippon diverged in two different directions. In the past, tea leaves were steamed in Cathay, but during the Song and Ming Dynasties, roasting became the preferred method of treatment for tea leaves. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, tea spread to Nippon, but they had always maintained the tradition of steaming their tea leaves.

Roasted tea was far more fragrant than steamed tea, while steamed tea was more vibrant in color, but also more bitter. The so-called mocha was essentially steamed green tea leaves ground into powder.

Qin Ye wasn't a fan of this type of tea.

"So is there one or not?"

"There is," Master Tokoromo replied with a serious expression. "My master told me that there's a yokai lurking in Aokigahara, and it's been there since the reign of Emperor Jimmu! It collects the hair of all of the people who've died in the forest and uses their souls and their hair to weave its shimenawa, which is the only black shimenawa in existence! My master says that there are two massive ancient trees in Aokigahara, but they can't be seen from the outside. Only by taking a specific route and using a specific method will one be able to see the other world. Each of the trees is over 100 meters tall, and between the two trees is the black shimenawa."

"How do I get in there?" Qin Ye asked.

Master Tokoromo carefully pulled an item out of his pocket before offering it up to Qin Ye with both hands.

It was a white finger bone.

It looked as if it had been constructed from jade, and it was very smooth to the touch. As soon as Qin Ye accepted the bone, he discovered that it was pointed in a certain direction, and it refused to point in any other direction even with the application of physical force!

"This is a bone that belonged to a renowned Buddhist master," Master Tokoromo said as he brought his palms together. "It will guide you in the right direction in Aokigahara."

Qin Ye nodded in response before stowing the bone away. "Anything else?"

Master Tokoromo shook his head in response, and Qin Ye instantly vanished into a burst of Yin energy.

Master Tokoromo was so startled by this that he dropped his teacup onto the ground, and he abruptly stood up as if he had been electrocuted, while cold sweat poured down his face.

What happened?! How did he suddenly disappear like that?! What kind of being was I speaking to just now?!